The present invention relates to optical scanners and printers and more specifically to a printer slip table with integral scanner.
Many retail products are identified by the same type and size of tags. These tags contain bar code labels which are read by an optical scanner for inventory control or checkout.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,410, entitled, "Scanning and Collection System for a Compact Laser", issued Nov. 20, 1990, to Wike, Jr. et al. discloses an optical scanner which employs a laser diode for producing a scanning beam, an optical transceiver for directing the beam against a plurality of stationary mirrors and collecting the beam after it is reflected by a bar code label, a motor for rotating the optical transceiver, and a detector for generating a signal from the returning beam. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S Pat. No. 4,859,839 entitled "Point-of-Sale Terminal for Laundry or Dry Cleaning Establishments", issued Aug. 22, 1989, to Tetelman et al. discloses a terminal for use in laundry and dry cleaning facilities which includes a keyboard, a printer for printing a ticket, and a stationary bar code reader positioned to read a ticket being moved by a ticket transport mechanism of the printer. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
Retail stores are without a quick and convenient way to validate purchases or coupons. The date and location of a purchase are difficult to trace. Coupon information is entered by hand after prices have been scanned.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a printer with a built-in scanner to give a seller better control over returns and refunds and to allow a seller to quickly validate coupons to quicken the checkout process. It would also be desirable to provide a scanner-printer combination which translates purchase information into a bar code label which can be printed on a receipt and scanned later if returned.